CHICO, Calif. -  A group a Butte County citizens came together for a small protest outside of the Butte County Public Health Department in Chico to voice their displeasure over the shut downs.

"We can't live like this, businesses are shutting down. People are losing their livelihoods, " said Norm Saunders, from Paradise. "It's not about protecting us it's about controlling us, let's go back to the way things were. We can't live in fear, you have to go on with life."

A group of citizens also say they are collecting signatures with the intent to sue the Board of Supervisors and Public Health officials.

"I don't really have much of a reaction to the threat or what they are saying about suing the Board of Supervisors or Public Health. That would have to go through our county council because we don't participate in lawsuits such as that," said Public Health Director, Danette York.

One woman who attended the protest and did not want to be identified said, "We have family members that have lost work, we have a lot more depression going on."

"Local jurisdictions only have the ability to be more strict than the state we cannot be less strict than the state. So when there's a regional stay-at-home order we are required to follow that," added York. 

So far, a group of citizens has collected around 200 signatures from community members who have been impacted by the shut downs.

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